Two-weeks after the3towns revealed access to the games hall at St
Matthew’s Academy in Saltcoats was to be restricted pending an investigation of
cracks in the structure’s walls, it has now emerged that an additional steel
framework requires to be installed at the facility.
The games hall has been out of use since November 19 after what a
Council official described as “a potential issue with the steelwork that
supports a section of the wall”.
Following an investigation by a structural engineer, it has been
identified that a section of wall requires additional steel supports. North Ayrshire Council hopes work will
completed by December 16, allowing pupils to again use their indoor sports
facility before the Christmas holiday.
St Matthew’s Academy is just six years-old, having been opened to pupils
in August 2007. The facility was one of
four schools built using the now discredited Public Private Partnership (PPP)
method of funding, at a cost to local taxpayers of £380m.
Under the PPP contract signed by NAC’s previous Labour administration,
St Matthews Academy, Stanley Primary School in Ardrossan, Arran High School and
Greenwood Academy in Dreghorn were built and are maintained by a private
company. As a penalty for the period
during which St Matthew’s pupils have been unable to access their games hall,
the3towns understands the Council is to seek a reduction of around £3,000 in
the money it pays to the private contractor.
Of greater concern, though, is likely to be the fact a substantial
structural problem has occurred at a relatively new school, particularly given
the high cost to local taxpayers of building and maintaining the
structure. At the time Labour councilors
embarked on the multi-million-pound PPP schools project, local people were
promised “state-of-the-art” buildings and facilities.
However, the North Ayrshire Schools PPP Project became notorious within
local government circles after it was revealed the then Labour-run Council had
proceeded with awarding a £380m contract despite only ever having one credible
and viable bid. A second bid, claimed by
the Council to represent ‘genuine competition’, had come from a company with no
filed accounts, no office, no experience in building or maintaining schools and
issued share capital of just £2.00.
In February 2009 the3towns reported that Ardrossan builder Alistair
McKenzie had discovered mortar between concrete blocks in walls at the St
Matthew’s games hall was soft. Mr
McKenzie’s company had been contracted to carry out repairs to the school,
which, at the time, was just two-years old.
The builder told the3towns in 2009, “We worked at the four PPP schools
doing repairs for months, with much of what we had to do being correcting
faults that were left from when the schools were built.”
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